


Cost and Benefit

by LyingTurtle



Series: Goddard Business Casual [6]
Category: Wolf 359 (Radio)
Genre: Kepler Has Feelings, M/M, The Hospital Scene, Workplace Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-02 23:37:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16796971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyingTurtle/pseuds/LyingTurtle
Summary: "So, we're thinking about killing Daniel Jacobi"Cutter and Kepler have a conversation about work performance.  Kepler relives some memories while trying to save a life.





	Cost and Benefit

**Author's Note:**

> So this was me thinking 'wow you know Kepler seems like that kind of guy who does things and refuses to think about why' and then I had to write this. Another thing I like is trying to focus on the way Kepler feels how he does about Daniel, because where I feel like Jacobi can generate pretty human emotions, Kepler is in outlier in the way he decides to feel things. I don't think he is emotionally dulled in any way, just that he's an asshole with an ego and thinks of himself as above emotion.
> 
> Also trying to figure out what Cutters office would look like led me through some fun thoughts. I think his office is extremely bare and almost like its a catalog instead of his design, but in reality he changes things around frequently to fit his needs. There's always a sofa for Miranda because she enjoys space, whereas Cutter needs his armchairs because he likes to be the focal point. The fireplace was a joke at first but the thought of having to install a propane

“So, we're thinking of killing Daniel Jacobi” Cutter spun idly in the large reclining chair, leather reflecting the mood lighting inside his non traditional office. Where most people may have a desk and computer, he had an open living space furnished to completion with sofa and a fireplace that defied all concepts of what an office should be. The area where he and Kepler sat was against the wall farthest from the defiant fireplace. A chair for each of them. And a rectangular desk cluttered only with a phone and an IPad. Kepler was very aware of the chipped corner of the table that a small bit of hair was still stuck in. He was also aware for the purpose in which Cutter left it there.

“Opps, sorry I meant  _ ‘firing’ _ him. I get those two mixed up all the time, don't you?” His grin was all teeth and the air quotes only reminded him of claws digging into something injured.

“May I ask why, sir?” Cutter leaned back in his chair thoughtfully, as though trying to remember the reason.

“We need a way out of a sticky situation. There's this whole ‘your company is killing off the competition’ lawsuit we are trying to avoid, so it would look better if we lost one of our developers along with the rest of the convention building we will be ‘firing’”

“And you believe that Jacobi is the best person to take this position? No offense sir but we are better than making sacrifices to appease others. Why should our progress be hindered?”

“Hmm, you know how to play to my interests Warren” Cutter spun more slowly and deliberate, tapping a pen to his chin. Kepler glanced again at the chipped corner of the desk, knowing full well the next part of their conversation would entail. “If we're keeping him alive- employed, there's that pesky wording again! If we are keeping him  _ employed _ then he must be helping with the progress of this company. Would you say he is helping, Warren?”

“ _ Currently _ we have a minor setback” he his teeth were warn in the back from where he ground them together so often these days, “But this is temporary, and he has showed to be indispensable in the past. I don't believe it would be worth losing as asset at this point in time. Sir”

Cutter leaned in closely, going farther than Kepler had expected him to. The light cast by the licking flames from across the room played over the surreally perfect stretched skin of his face. Kepler had once been told in secret why Cutter always kept the lights the way he did, because if you stared hard and close enough you could see the cracks in the machine. He refused to let his eyes travel to the chipped edge of the desk despite hearing it call his name. The edge of the desk was reserved for those people who tell secrets.

“Do you call insurrection a minor setback?” The room was terribly hot from the fire but now Kepler felt a chill set into him.

“It was a temporary lapse of judgement on his part, yes. But in the end he fulfilled his orders and completed the mission as planned. I would not personally label it insurrection. We will not have any incidents like this in the future, nor did he try and include anyone in his disobedience” he spoke as quickly and firmly as possible, hoping to inject some of the anger he had felt at the time if only to prove a point.

“Did he not try and convince your other operative to assist him in disobeying you?

-

_ “Maxwell don't do, it's a fucking hospital!” she looked hurriedly between the two men, Kepler fuming as he stared down Jacobi who held onto a dangerous amount of determination. And also gun of course. But that was easier to forgive. _

_ “Mr. Jacobi, you will do as you are told, this is not up for-” _

_ “This is wrong Warren!” Kepler looked to the open laptop with the detonation sequence ready to run. If he tried to go for it then Jacobi would surely try and intercept him. Even if he fought him and won, he knew that the fallout would result in losing him. _

_ “Daniel I don't think this is a good idea” Maxwell started, her voice soft as if to counterbalance the tension growing heavier. Kepler felt his fingers itch for the gun at his side, craving the simple solution it would provide. Forcing him would mean breaking whatever remaining control he had over the stupidly passionate man. Kepler hadn't realized how much he didn't want to lose him. _

_ “I won't make you do it” he sighed, letting his shoulders relax and bloodlust drain. “That's not fair to you” he couldn't have confused the two of them more if he had tried. Walking forwards, he slid an arm around Maxwell, brushing a strand of her hair back with the other. “Do you have all your things?” She tried turned her head as though to look at Jacobi but he kept it in place. She nodded wordlessly, dropping her eyes to her feet. _

_ Together, they turned and he began to lead her out towards the door of their temporary control room. He knew that she could feel the nature of his gambit in the drumming pulse and the hand that squeezed too hard on her side, but if she realized it she said nothing. _

_ “Wait” Jacobi stared daggers down at him, the look written all over his face, ‘how dare you’. “Just, we could say it went wrong, we could…” He trailed off, realizing it was lost on Kepler's expressionless face. _

_ “You're smarter than that” he spat, insulated by his desperate attempts. He felt Maxwell tense as they hesitated by the door, one of her hands gripping the edge of his shirt as if in a plea not to go any further. “Jacobi, if you're not with me completely then there's no room for you here. It's either them, or” he didn't finish his sentence, he didn't have to say it. ‘Choose us’ he couldn't stop his mind from populating. _

_ - _

“No sir, Maxwell was never involved. He was in a state of emotional compromise, but he never made any true move against us.”

“So you would feel comfortable with him handling company secrets, working closely with dangerous equipment, and being personally responsible for not shooting you in the back?” Kepler wondered if there was ever a time when Marcus Cutter didn't smile at his own inflated sense of wit. He doubted it severely by how strongly the muscles of his face seemed to pull his lips back to reveal his teeth.

“Yes, Jacobi is a perfectly fine operative when his emotions are being handled. Which I will do more to work on in the future with him” Cutter leaned back finally, leaning back in his chair casually, taking on another tone entirely.

“Do you enjoy working with him, Warren?”

“He is very capable sir, yes”

“Oh but Warren that's not what I asked”

-

_ Jacobi looked so lost that Kepler had to resist going to him and showing him what to do. The anger was draining from him fast, leaving only the helpless resentment of a man who had done his best to atone for the sins he had committed. And now Kepler was asking him to make new ones. _

_ What played out through the unraveling of Jacobi’s mind was something Kepler could only guess at. He watched as he went through all of his grief stages, between the pacing and the cursing, at one point even hitting himself in the face that sent a body wide flinch through Maxwell, to finally just laying the pistol down beside the laptop and whispering under his breath while he hit the start sequence. _

_ It was only when he heard the whirling of the computer that Kepler actually began to breathe again, wondering how much of his success was a tribute to his methods just now or the years of reinforcement behind them. But it all fell through the floor as Jacobi turned his head slowly away from the console, his eyes settling on the gun in a way Kepler had seen before in a man given up. _

_ He moved so fast that Jacobi merely had time to brush his fingers against the stock of the gun before Kepler was moving him back against the wall with his entire body. It wasn't a punishing shove, but Jacobi shut his eyes and looked like he was waiting to be hit anyways. Keplers calloused hand ran through his hair, breathing in the familiar smell, gripping the back of his neck and pulling Daniel in to him. _

-

“After working with someone for a lengthy amount of time there are things that I find agreeable about him, but I wouldn't go so far as to say we have a beyond working attachment”

“Hmm, working attachment, working attachment” Cutter played with the words, seeing how they felt in his mouth. “See Warren I'm only worried because I worry that maybe this won't be the last -oh what did you call it? State of emotional compromise? Very cute. Look,” he stopped swiveling the chair and interlocked both his hands atop the desk, taking on a very business like approach that hadn't been present at any other point in the meeting. “My job is to take care of  _ you _ , so you can take care of Jacobi and Jacobi can build ‘bombs’ or whatever that take care of our enemies, or whatever! How are you going to reassure me that this little structure of ours is still working? How do I know you won't let him nearly betray us and risk all of our lives on a whim of his again?”

Kepler thought for a moment, taking a time not to figure out his words, but dissect the meaning behind Cutters. What did he want? Kepler blinked and his eyes were back again on the chipped corner, the familiar brown tuft of hair stuck in the ridges from the impact of how hard Kepler had pushed the man's head onto it.

“I had no problem terminating a similar threat when it came to Patrick” he knew he had won because Cutter hadn't smiled, only the smallest twitch at the edge of his lips indicated success. In the inhuman tone that was his real voice Cutter excused him with,

“Thank you Warren, you're free to go”

-

_ ‘Are you going to kiss him?’ He wondered, finding that his mouth was inches away and he was poised with a hand on his neck and another one fisted in his shirt. Jacobi just kept his eyes shut, the gentle hurt expression only evident to someone who spent a long time memorizing his face. _

_ “Get in the car” Kepler muttered, pulling himself away more out of duty than want. He watched as Maxwell gently took him into her arms and led him out of the room. Warren now, alone with just his thoughts, wondered why he hadn't shot him on the spot, then remembered how cold he felt now without him and understood why. This was going to be a problem. _

_ - _

Kepler returned to the shared office, finding only the entrance lights on and the rest of the interior dark. Somewhere deep down he wished there would be another body, even a janitor to keep him from his thoughts.

He didn't bother turning the lights on, finding just enough dim glow to make it to Jacobi’s desk and sit down in his chair, leaning as far back as he could make it go. There was a pink sticky note with his name on it sitting in the middle of the unusually clean desk. Plucking it up, he scanned over Maxwell's handwriting.

_ “Let me make my own decision next time” _ he decided not to wonder how she knew to leave it stuck to Jacobis desk instead of his own, but he chucked it in the bin all the same.

He closed his eyes and breathed, remembering the way Patrick had sat in this room prior to them and looked at him with all the admiration in the world till the point where Kepler decided it was just too risky. His problem was he let his heart get in the way of his head, and that's what ended him up being found rooting through Cutters office. Now Cutter leaves that chip there to remind him.

In the privacy of the darkness he let his hands cover his face and find solace in the pressure. He would not let Jacobi make the same mistake. For what reason he refused to think about even in the dark.


End file.
